Pedro Pablo Kuczynski wins Peru's presidential election

Peruvian economist Pedro Pablo Kuczynski will be the next president of Peru, the National Office of Electoral Processes (ONPE) confirmed at 4 p.m. Thursday afternoon.

After a long four-day count, Kuczynski, from the Peruvians for Change (PPK), edged out his rival Keiko Fujimori, from Popular Force, with a wafer-thin margin, winning by 50.117 percent to 49.883 percent.

This tight presidential contest was the closest in 25 years in Peru, with over 18.5 million Peruvians having voted.

Kuczynski took to Twitter to thank his supporters, saying "Thank you, Peru! It is time to work together for the future of our country."

His campaign team also announced that the winning candidate would soon hold a press conference in celebration of his victory.

Kuczynski will take over as president on July 28 from President Ollanta Humala for a mandate lasting until 2021. 

source : xinhua